52 DC Finish Line

So this was not my best challenge by any means. I’m disappointed in how things ended up, but I guess sometimes you reach for the stars and only make it to the moon. I set my kettlebell goal too high this time around and should have kept it at 2,000 like I did for the summer challenge. Over the last few weeks, I have gotten tired of my workouts and I really need to do something to change that. I have not seen much in the way of improvement in the weights I’ve been doing and I just haven’t been excited about working out lately. I’ve fallen off the wagon and will need to change that.

Recapping the First 100

Wow! Post #100 today and I can’t believe we’ve made it this far already! Hopefully you’ve found my posts interesting and useful. I’m sure there’s been a few that have seemed rather boring or vague. Hopefully there has also been plenty of good stuff here too! I’m going to highlight a few of my favorites and the ones I think were some of the best in my first 100 posts.

Rest and Recovery

In the athletic performance world, the fitness world, etc we are very good about pushing and pushing to seek improvements. If we want to run a marathon, we run A LOT. If we want to lift a heavy weight, we lift A LOT. Many personal trainers push their clients and continue pushing because they want to keep their clients happy. Some of them think that a client is only happy when he or she feels like the trainer is doing “a lot” for them. Obviously the clients are also guilty here in that they demand the personal trainer do this or that for them and possibly get upset if the trainer decides to have a “light” day or a day with minimal to no exercise.

But fitness professionals and do-it-yourselfers need to understand you can’t just push, push, push all the time. You need to take days to back off and you need to take times completely off.

Strength and Conditioning

Many people have their thoughts of the job of the strength and conditioning coach. Most people think it is to simply make an athlete stronger, faster, and a better athlete. What most people don’t realize is there is much more involved than that. In fact, I’d even say that those three things are not priorities with most strength and conditioning specialists.

Quote of the Week 10

It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect It’s successful outcome.”
William James

Athletic Training Tidbits

This week’s edition of “Going to Rehab” is just several tidbits from the week..

I have actually put up a few posts this week regarding athletic training. Hopefully you’ve seen them! The Advocates for Injured Athletes organization is a big deal to me. Please make sure you’ve read that post and check out their website. Their videos are spot-on and I really appreciate the work they are doing. I also posted earlier in the week about Concussion Management. I think schools, teams, athletes, and administrators along with medical personnel are finally catching on. Change was desperately needed and I think it is finally happening! I have worked hard to spearhead that effort in my area and especially at my high school.

Concussion Management

I posted awhile back about Illinois legislation that didn’t necessarily change the way healthcare providers handled concussions, but rather mandated the ways we treated concussed athletes.

I have noticed a major change in how we have been able to manage concussions at my school since this new legislation. When it initially came out the school personnel, athletes, and parents were reluctant and upset with the new requirements. I, on the other hand, was estatic because it put the athletic trainers in the forefront and helped bring to light the issue of concussions along with the issue of the lack of athletic trainers in secondary schools.

I am solely responsible for concussion management at the school that I am contracted with. In August, I spoke numerous times at parents’ meetings, with the athletes, and with the coaching staff. I spoke at length with the school nurse. All of them received information from the Illinois High School Association and CDC regarding concussions. The coaches, administrators, and school nurse were also provided with the return to play protocols.

Quote of the Week 10

If your dog is fat, you’re not getting enough exercise.  ~Author Unknown

Advocates for Injured Athletes

Beth and Tommy Mallon have a story to tell; it’s a story they hope will help protect youth athletes across the nation.  The mother-son duo has launched Advocates for Injured Athletesbased out of San Diego, California.  Their goal: have a certified athletic trainer at every high school in America.

Tommy was a high school lacrosse player going for a ball when he and an opponent collided in a seemingly simple collision that would change lives permanently.  Luckily for Tommy, the certified athletic trainer present at the event would not allow Tommy to get up.  Riki Kirchhoff, ATC quickly and accurately assessed the situation and determined that Tommy had suffered a serious injury to his neck.

It has been over two years since the injury and the fight continues on and the Advocates for Injured Athletes just released a new video.  The website has a wealth of information about the organization and I encourage you all to visit and support them.  Every athlete deserves the care that Tommy received that day and that is their goal.

That is also my goal and one that I continually fight for.

Ms. Mallon and I have communicated over the last several months and she sent me this new video last night. This story still chokes me up every time I watch and I’ve seen these videos several times.

For me, it is amazing to think that I could likely be put into this sort of situation. Where I could be asked to save a life out there on the field. But that’s what we train for and that’s exactly what I plan to do if it should happen!

Please help this organization and please help youth athletes everywhere.

Every athlete deserves an athletic trainer.

 

 

 

Going to Rehab: Paperwork

Paperwork is a part of just about all jobs. Athletic Training is no different. I spend plenty of time each day doing paperwork. Some of it is related to my job as an athletic trainer; other stuff is related to my fitness responsibilities. Within my athletic training responsibilities, I have to complete injury reports, injury consultation forms, supply inventory, and keep reports on my hours worked. Certain injuries also require additional specific requirements.

For example, when I evaluate a concussion I complete a SCAT 2 evaluation packet (4 pages), a Head Injury Notification Form, and an injury consultation form. Then, I have to notify the parents normally and also notify school administrators and the school nurse so that she can notify the student-athlete’s teachers.

I track a lot of information. Not only do I complete the consult forms that we’re required to do and the weekly injury reports for the coaches, I also detail each injury in an Excel document so that I will be able to go back later and look at any trends or show my worth.

It takes a lot of work and it’s a part of the job most don’t enjoy, but it must be done. As they say, “if it’s not documented, it didn’t happen!”